Monday, September 30, 2013

Continually Seek Him

Psalm 40:9-17
English Standard Version (ESV)
I have told the glad news of deliverance[a]
    in (A)the great congregation;
behold, I have not 
(B)restrained my lips,
    (C)as you know, O Lord.
10 I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;
    I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
    from the great congregation.
11 As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain
    your mercy from me;
your 
(D)steadfast love and your faithfulness will
    ever preserve me!
12 For evils have (E)encompassed me
    beyond number;
my 
(F)iniquities have overtaken me,
    and I cannot (G)see;
they are 
(H)more than the hairs of my head;
    my heart (I)fails me.
13 (J)Be pleased, O Lord, to (K)deliver me!
    Lord(L)make haste to help me!
14 (M)Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether
    who seek to snatch away my life;
let those be 
(N)turned back and brought to dishonor
    who delight in my hurt!
15 Let those be appalled because of their shame
    who (O)say to me, “Aha, Aha!”
16 But may all who seek you
    rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
    (P)say continually, “Great is the Lord!”
17 As for me, I am (Q)poor and needy,
    but (R)the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
    do not delay, O my God!

How many of us are declaring the name of the Lord?  How many of us are telling of His wondrous deeds?  How many of us are telling others of His steadfast love?  I am sure that many of us have not had the opportunity of a king to tell our story of God’s steadfast love to “great congregations”.  That is something that I have always thought that I would like to do!  Even though we don’t have the opportunity to do so we should share with those around us.  We should share of God’s love to those God has placed before us yet so many times we shy away from the opportunity. 

The next set of questions has to do with our iniquities.  Do I dare ask, how many of us have sinned?  The scripture tells us, “All have sinned” (Romans 3:8), so that is a pretty easy question to answer!  But, how many of us are deep in sin?  I am not asking, “How many of us have worse sins than others?” there is no sin greater than another.  Rather,  how many of us are dug so deep into sin we almost don’t recognize it anymore?  David was deep in sin to the point that his iniquities had overtaken him, yet the Lord was with him.  Then David asked the Lord to deliver him and the Lord did so and, the good news is, He will deliver us as well.

I have to wonder if David’s greatness got the best of him and he begin to think that it was okay for him to do as he pleased.  Then he remembered that he wasn’t here to please himself but to honor God.  Have you ever been there?  Maybe we haven’t been famous but sometimes I know that I think the world owes me something but in reality I owe the world to my Father.  Meaning I should not live for this world but should freely give everything that the world has to offer back to the Father who owns it anyway. 

What I should be doing can be found in the last verses.  I should seek Him and then rejoice and be glad in Him, not the world, in Him and Him alone.  So, why is that so hard to do sometimes?  Why do I have to wait?  Maybe we wait because He wants us to continually seek Him rather than to seek the things of this world.  Maybe He is perfecting in us a will and a desire to proclaim His word wherever we are and a continual need to seek Him with all our hearts.

Seeking Him with all my heart,


Sheila 

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